


to heal a wound

by nefelibata_yyun



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, BAMF Tsunade (Naruto), BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, Character Bashing, Comfort/Angst, Fluff and Angst, Fuuinjutsu Master Uzumaki Naruto, How Do I Tag, I'm Bad At Tagging, Kage Bunshin | Shadow Clones, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Smart Uzumaki Naruto, but its needed sooo, its not over the top promise, medic!Naruto, naruto is a noob genin, post-graduation exam, soon at least, well soon at least
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:48:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28789743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nefelibata_yyun/pseuds/nefelibata_yyun
Summary: "It's so booooring-""Stupid brat," Tsunade goes for a reprimanding tone but she couldn't help but think of Nawaki. "Maybe if you just got a bit of Iryo, you would be able to-... to save lives." Her voice lowers. "To heal a wound."Naruto didn't complain after that.--'I believe that Tsunade-hime had fixed a wound that no Bijuu or Med-Nin ever could.'--Medic!Naruto Byakugo!NarutoFinally-someone-teaches-him-right!NarutoAnnnd the be-LOVED SasuNaru (I have zero regrets, come at me, I dare you)(Or, Tsunade is forced back into Konoha and told to take an apprentice after a... let's call it a 'meeting' with the Elders. Hyuuga Hinata, Haruno Sakura, Yamanaka Ino... those are the suitable candidates. But Tsunade won't go for 'suitable', she's going for a challenge- someone who will be exceptional. She absolutely does not know how her presence and her words would affect the Konoha Rookie 9.)
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura & Uzumaki Naruko, Haruno Sakura & Yamanaka Ino, Sarutobi Hiruzen & Tsunade, Tsunade & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto, maybeee sasunaru
Comments: 91
Kudos: 307





	1. obliged

**Author's Note:**

> watch me fuck up my sleep schedule for doing two fanfics at once. what the fuck am i doing
> 
> the main reason why im posting this is cause it was a draft but then the time was running out so lmao i had to post this.
> 
> (if ur from my blood red (s&s) fanfic, just lettin you know that since school started for me again, i have a buncha shit and work i gotta do. pain in the ass. i wont stop or go on hiatus or watever so yee)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tsunade receives a letter.

_...Sincerely,_

_Sandaime Hokage_

_Sarutobi Hiruzen_

The letter crumbles under Tsunade's fingers as she _growls,_ the elaborate fabric tearing under her ruby red nails. 

"Fucking..."

Shizune must not have registered the KI flowing fiercely out of her Shishou's figure as she pipes up, "What does it say, Tsunade-sama?"

"What does it say?" The woman barks, viciously scrunching the scroll into a makeshift ball before hurling it with all her strength. "What does it _say?!"_

The scroll promptly catches on fire- the dry fabric not bearing the sudden pressure and friction. 

Tsunade grinds her molars as Shizune jumps back in shock. 

"Fuck! We're going back to Konoha." She bites out with so much vitriol that Shizune daren't ask for the reason. Recalling the contents of the letter, Tsunade aggressively makes her way back to their temporary lodging, the ground fissuring under the raw power of her aggravation.

_'You are a vital part of our forces.'_ Fuck that. 

_'It would be extremely beneficial to Konoha if you returned.'_ Fuck that. _'It is a shame that our Iryo Ninjutsu has deteriorated as so.'_ That can also be fucked.

 _'_ _It would be horrible if one would die because of your lack of action.'_ Fuck that also. _'I don't take you as one to turn the other cheek to people's sufferings.'_ Fuck that too.

As she exits the building of her recent stay, she slammed the door so violently that her surroundings shook, dust clouding off the walls. _'As the granddaughter of the Shodaime, lover of a renowned Jonin and brother of a loyal shinobi, I'd expect to see you soon.'_

_'It burdens me greatly to have to go to this length, but unfortunately, Tsunade, I will proclaim you Nuke-Nin if you do not return immediately.'_

Fuck. That.

* * *

_-A week later-_

"Disappointing."

Tsunade slams the papers down onto Sarutobi's desk. "I literally didn't even need to start picking them out. They're all completely hopeless. You call these potential candidates? You think I would _stoop. To. That. Level. Of. Inanity?_ You think I, a Sannin that had survived _generations of warfare,_ would _deign_ to take on any of those idiots as an apprentice?"

"Now, now Tsunade," The Hokage rubs his temple as if _she_ was the one being irrational. Well, good, she guesses. He _deserved_ that headache. "They're only children. Talk to them directly in class, it will serve both as an inspiration and a drive. Perhaps you will see their potential then."

There was a moment of bewildered silence.

"...Children?" She spits, not caring for etiquette. Sarutobi had _dared_ to use Dan and Nawaki to bait her back- dared to guilt trip her into coming back to this blasted place and now they're forcing her to take on a student- forcing her to mentor one of those... who was it? The civilian fangirl... the shy Hyuuga heiress... or the Yamanaka heiress fangirl? She could very much see herself accidentally crippling one of them out of irritation.

 _"Children..._ You say." Tsunade laughs derisively. "If they're old enough to be responsible for people's _lives_ then I'm pretty sure they're old enough to stop acting like brainless brats and nauseatingly stalkerish fangirls."

The harshness of the Academy had lowered to discouraging levels, simple skills like tree walking techniques weren't even taught. That school might as well be a civilian one- or worse in how it feeds their ego. Then on the flip side, child soldiers were a thing and still are a thing. Danzo runs amok with ROOT, using methods that she very much does not want to know about to torture children. To desensitise them. To de _humanise_ them.

And what? Does the 'Hokage' give a shit? 

Sarutobi could try and deny Danzo's many nefarious deeds but in the end he was selling himself out as either a fool or a mealy-mouth. And neither were traits that any leader worth respect should have.

Tsunade had been here for a mere week and she could see the dark edge to this Village. She wonders whether or not Danzo would still be alive if he hadn't been Sarutobi's childhood friend. Favouritism. It was a stain on the robes of the Hokage.

Danzo might as well have instigated the Uchiha Massacre from behind the scenes, leaving with no more than a slap on the wrist... on that note, she could actually imagine that happening.

"Tsunade..." Sarutobi sighs, sounding old and tired. Well, if he was too old and tired to act like an actually shinobi, let alone a Hokage, then he should resign. "Just do as you're told."

She scoffs.

"Disappointing." She snarls once again, storming out of the office and paying no heed to how the door shattered into pieces on impact when she slammed it behind her.


	2. meeting them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is not a summary: im just warning u of minor character bashing.
> 
> ('minor' cuz tsunade WAS brash when naruto first met her. i dont think im exaggerating their personalities THAAAAAAAAAAt much either... so it's just facts i guess. they need a wake up call)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ignore this if u dont read my other fanfic: (if u dont go check it out :D)
> 
> i might be updating blood red less frequently cuz i needa juggle a lotta stuff after the holidays ended. (lowkey wanna change the name)  
> i wont stop it tho. u can take my word for it. 
> 
> its easier to write tiny chapters (for this fic)- for that timetravel fanfic im legit creating a novel for frickin sake

_"Tsunade..." Sarutobi sighs, sounding old and tired. Well, if he was too old and tired to act like an actually shinobi, let alone a Hokage, then he should resign. "Just do as you're told."_

_She scoffs._

_"Disappointing." She snarls once again, storming out of the office and paying no heed to how the door shattered into pieces on impact when she slammed it behind her._

_-The next day-_

Tsunade cloaks her presence surreptitiously as she walks through the Academy halls. She casually sends a whisper of chakra to her ears, honing her senses until she could hear...

"-suke-kun is mine!" 

"You won't be able to heal his heart like _I_ do-"

"Get away from him!"

"Sasuke-kun is _mine!_ "

Annddd, she already hated that class. The noise gets progressively louder as she nears the door.

"Sasuke-kun will be my husband one day-"

"Like Sasuke-kun would want to have babies with you!"

"What are you talking about? We would have beautiful Sharingan babies!"

Tsunade opens the sliding door, presence still cloaked but if _someone_ pays attention, they would notice. She stands by the lectern, eyeing and picking at the atrociously light-beige-green painted wood. Tsunade tries to zone out on the fangirls' screeching but she felt her control nearly waver in anger with every passing sentence. She waits and waits and waits. 

Of course, no one notices. 

"Disappointing." She says again, uncloaking her chakra and she can feel every student freeze at the sudden presence. Tsunade holds back a groan of despair because- even though the extent she had hidden her presence was very advanced, as long as if someone actually used their _eyes,_ they would notice. Some were even facing her, though staring off into space.

A platinum blonde haired girl opens her mouth in indignation.

"Who do you think you are?" The Yamanaka- though she hates using the term with such an undistinguished brat- continues false saccharinely. "If you're lost, I'll tell you where you are. This is the _Academy_ for _shinobi._ You know who they are right?" 

Tsunade finally relents to sighing, and if she did it extra loudly, then she wouldn't deny to it.

"Excuse me?" The girl yells, flinging her blonde fringe away from her face. The blonde let out a little smirk at the shouts of agreements. "Did you just _sigh_ at me? Do you know who I am? I am-"

"The heiress of the Yamanaka clan." Tsunade looks up from where she was commiserating with the lectern and she doesn't even relish in the stunned silence at the familiar appearance of her face. The famed Sannin's profiles were probably handed out like candies in Academy. It was ludicrous how they could aspire to be like her while... screaming over a traumatised boy.

"I say again." She bites out harshly. "Disappointing."

The girl flinches and this time, no one shouts in defence of her. It might seem mean of Tsunade but she was just dishing out the facts. If they couldn't take the truth, how could they be reliable shinobi?

"When are you graduating?"

There are half-hearted murmurs of 'next week', 'next year' and 'this week' and she felt her patience drawing a thin line. She exhales loudly and for some reason, it came out like a growl.

"Do you know why I'm here." It wasn't a question. Certain that they couldn't answer that, Tsunade forged on. "Can anyone guess why I'm here?"

"U-um, to talk to us about the life of shinobi?" The pink haired one raises an arm hesitantly before clasping her hands in front of her chest, tilting her head in a purposeful way that was probably a pathetic attempt to look cute. 

"Clasping your hands is the act of a suicidal idiot. Exposure to the carotid artery and the jugular vein, one kunai for others, one finger for me- easy kill." She intones in a dull voice, not even blinking as she jolts out of her posture. 

"Wha- what?" 

"Don't tell me you didn't learn that the neck was vulnerable to fatal attacks in Academy? You know, to become a shinobi, you first need to learn what could kill you. And I can name more than dozen things in the classroom that can." Tsunade hushes slowly in a superficially sweet tone before her voice lowered again, a strict meanness dosing her words like poison. "Myself being the first on the list. You're off to get killed, _honey_."

"W- well, if you aren't here to teach us about shinobi-"

"Do you think I would come _here_ to give _you_ a lesson on shinobi?" Tsunade felt offended. "I would think the top 'kunoichi' of the class would know better than that. You really think any shinobi above the calibre of a B-Rank would give _kids_ a lecture?"

At the tense silence, Tsunade stared at each student, eyeing them like one would weigh a bag of flour- testing their strength, their potential, their guts.

The only redeeming fact about the decision to meet the students in person was the notion that they'd probably be too scared or annoyed to _want_ to be her student.

"...You were observing us. Talking to the Senseis." The Uchiha boy suggested quietly. "Sannin would have no reason to do anything under an A or S-Rank mission and visiting the Academy would mean that you were... looking for people with potential to take on as a student?"

By the shocked stares of some boys, he was no doubt acting out of character, perhaps he was less haughty than usual. No one would dare to be self-confident in front of a Legend after all.

"Correct," She gifts him a small tilt of a lip. Not a smile- but for the first time, not a look of disdain. "I'm glad that someone actually uses their brain here." 

_"I will not!" Tsunade had slammed her hand onto the table._

_"Preposterous." Homura had snapped. "Who do you think you are?"_

_"A Legendary Sannin." She had countered just as meanly. "You should be glad that I hadn't turned Nuke. You couldn't handle Orochimaru, who do_ you _think you are?" Tsunade had thrown back._

_"Handling you would be easy," Homura had growled. "As long as you have the Kato by your sid-"_

_"Homura!" Sarutobi had cut in as killing intent flooded room, radiating with pure bloodthirst as Tsunade had glared at the man. "You will not threaten Tsunade or Shizune. The audacity to speak as so to my student!"_

_"Tsunade," Koharu had cautiously approached. "We will provide you with triple the income for each of you, your ward and your disciple. You will have enough ryo to live luxuriously on the account that you do not gamble. Take on an apprentice, pass down the Slug contract-"_

_"Then I want no hand in helping the hospital. Apprenticeship in lieu of running a building."_

_"...Fine. Don't make this more difficult for the both of us."_

"I was recommended to take on one of three students in this class, though right now, I'm greatly regretting my decision." Tsunade's eyes dart from person to person- the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the Inuzuka, Aburame, Hyuuga, Uchiha... so many clan heirs and all of them- Utterly. Useless.

Zero guts. Zero passion. There was no way for her to evaluate their true potential if they didn't have the determination, the battle or the _Will of Fire._

After the Uchiha Massacre, she didn't doubt that countless civilian parents withdrew their children- finally understanding what the life of a soldier was like. She had expected mature clan heirs and persevering shinobi-to-be civilians with bright goals... but instead she got...

She had thought that at _least_ the Haruno girl was promising- zero capacity yet a hundred control, disadvantageous circumstances yet the knowledge that placed her high, civil born yet named top kunoichi- but it took a single glance at her and the class to dismiss that thought. Clearly the standards had gone down. 

"Sarutobi-" A few heads jerked at the informal title. She normally called him 'Sensei' but as soon as she read the letter, that moniker had long since been trampled on, "-told me that you had potential."

She sees the self-absorbed arrogance well up in quite a few people. "He had probably said that to convince me to take on an apprentice. I can now see that it was a lie."

The ballooned egos popped in their faces.

"Yamanaka-" The blonde snaps to attention, "Haruno," the pinkette tilts her head again and blinks prettily, "And Hyuuga." The heiress yelps quietly before turning a bright shade of red. "You three were supposedly good at chakra control. Promising candidates for apprenticeship."

The three had different expressions on their faces: the Yamanka- poorly hidden pride, the Haruno- disgustingly fake bashfulness and the Hyuuga- who was shaking her head aggressively and hunching her shoulders.

"Obviously, I am not taking any of you three as apprentices." She presses her lips together in a fake grim smile. "The Yamanka heiress? Fawning over an Uchiha? Talking about how 'mysterious and cool' he is because of his circumstances? Pray tell, are you even considering your own name?"

Tsunade leans in with a facsimile expression of curiosity before she swings to look at the pink haired girl. "And you, Haruno. Highest grading kunoichi? How did you manage to do that? With that repulsive farce of a sweet girl you are trying to pull?"

"I- I'm n-"

"I could bet my wallet that you wanted to become 'best' solely so that you could have the Uchiha's attention."

At the sudden violent flush on her face and the not-at-all subtle glances to the Uchiha, Tsunade sneers. 

Taking one look at the Hyuuga girl who looked like she was about to curl into her intestines, she relented at giving her a jab. The heiress clearly had her psychological issues to deal with- as unfitting of a heir as it would be. 

Taking another sweep of the room, Shikaku's mini-me looking disturbingly attentive, Chouza's son- eating chips (she gave a mirthful, good-natured scoff at that, gaining many surprised looks), the Aburame looked unreadable as usual and the Inuzuka was scarily contemplative. The Uchiha looked somewhat approving, vindicated and satisfied- the reprimands of their current Academy Sensei had probably never driven home in the fangirls' minds. Poor boy, having to deal with half a class of squealing girls.

Seeing the deer in the headlights look from the Hyuuga, the mortified and ashamed look from the Yamanaka and the confused and frustrated look from the Haruno, Tsunade gave a sigh. She might've been too hard- after all, she _had_ to take an apprentice in the end. If the next class was just as bad...

Tsunade opens her mouth to start talking again when the window slammed open and a bright orange blur darted behind Tsunade. Feeling no malicious intent, she let him, feeling slightly curious.

"Naruto! Where are you hidin-" A brunette Chunin started angrily, ripping open the door before noticing Tsunade's presence and the boy behind her. "Ah, forgive me Tsunade-hime. My student is a little bit of a menace, please don't mind him and continue the lesson." He then stalks forward and angrily grabs the boy by his collar.

"You just don't appreciate my art-ttebayo!" 'Naruto' screeches and-

Uzumaki.

Tsunade _knows that chakra, knows that verbal tic_. "If you're so amazing, how come you or those tree ninjas never catch me, huh, huh?"

Uzumaki Naruto- Kushina and Minato's _son-_ screams with the loudness and loneliness of a neglected child.

"If you want me to stop pranking, then ya hafta chase me better. Believe it, dattebayo!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope it was a good read :D


	3. she sees him (them)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if u hadnt noticed, im making the chapter super short cuz im also writing my other fic which has wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy longer chapters (this chapter is longer than usual tho, so apPrEciAtE mEEE)
> 
> edit: ok from here on it might get confusing cuz im using different povs. so if it switches subjects rly quickly, dont mind me

_"Naruto! Where are you hidin-" A brunette Chunin started angrily, ripping open the door before noticing Tsunade's presence and the boy behind her. "Ah, forgive me Tsunade-hime. My student is a little bit of a menace, please don't mind him and continue the lesson." He then stalks forward and angrily grabs the boy by his collar._

_"You just don't appreciate my art-ttebayo!" 'Naruto' screeches and-_ _Uzumaki._ _Tsunade knows that chakra, knows that verbal tic. "If you're so amazing, how come you or those tree ninjas never catch me, huh, huh?"_

_Uzumaki Naruto- Kushina and Minato's son- screams with the loudness and loneliness of a neglected child._

_"If you want me to stop pranking, then ya hafta chase me better. Believe it, dattebayo!"_

"Tree ninjas?" Tsunade says curiously because he can't possibly...

"Yeah, they're kinda weird, dattebayo." He scrunches up his nose, words tumbling out quickly. "They have white animal masks on their faces _alllll_ the time, they've been watching me since I was a baby, you know that, dattebayo? It's like they have nothing better to do with their lives, ya kno-"

"Naruto!" The Chunin yells again, this time, with a darker edge than what Tsunade thinks is necessary for Academy teachers.

* * *

_-Iruka-_

He's _mad_ though and Tsunade-hime couldn't blame him for it. Many citizens had escaped, albeit wounded and traumatised, from the Kyuubi demon because of the ANBU yet this child _dares_ to disparage their courage.

When the child minutely flinches, a split second of fear and pain flashing across his eyes, Iruka feels a sliver of guilt in him. Iruka _knows_ that the child isn't the Kyuubi and definitely wasn't responsible for any of the casualties but amongst the whispers of the crowd and the mass isolating the boy, he couldn't help but watch and stand by, hoping that some part of the Kyuubi no Kitsune was suffering.

(Who was he joking? Hokage-sama had _told you,_ Iruka. He's a Jinchuuriki. The jailor of the monster. Not the monster itself. You know that.)

But that arose the question: how did the civilians even hear about Naruto's circumstance?

They shouldn't have been privy to that information; it was an S-Rank secret and anyone below high level Chuunin status weren't meant to know.

And even then, the information hadn't been properly absorbed. The process of Fuuinjutsu doesn't connect with the villagers and as soon as they heard 'Kyuubi' in the same connotation as 'Naruto', they had ignored everything else.

(Such as the important part about how Naruto was not the Kyuubi.) 

Kyuubi child this. Kyuubi child that.

Parts of Iruka judges the civilians for being so shallow minded but when he thinks of his parents' backs- because shinobi couldn't lose sight of their target- he could only see their deaths and the fox that caused it.

When he sees the boy, he could only see the three whisker marks on the boy's face (and not how the boy looks _exactly like_ Minato-sama and Kushina-san).

He could only see how this boy was related to the Kyuubi, connected to the Kyuubi. ~~You mean, he was burdened with the Kyuubi and all the hatred that came with it.~~

Iruka knew his hypocrisy, he knew it deep down in him but it was so much easier blaming the boy that _everyone else was blaming._

He watches the glimmer of panic wash away as the boy dumped a (obviously fake) sulking look over his features. The ability to wipe away and seal off emotions was something that even most Chuunin couldn't do but the conditions the boy had been through made the action easy as breathing to him.

Iruka remembers how every single morning there'd be a-

_"It's the Ky-"_

(That dejected, saddened look on the boy's face.)

_"Shh, can't talk about tha-"_

(The movement as the child had hunched in over himself.)

_"Kaa-san, why is he all alone?"_

_"Hush sweetie. Remember what I told you?_ That boy _is_ _what I was talking about."_

("My name is Uzumaki Naruto, dattebyo!" Iruka had flinched at his loudness like he didn't know it was a desperate action into getting attention. "You better remember it!")

_"Remember son, it's not a normal boy. In fact-"_

Iruka remembers standing there, pretending to check the roll that he had marked long ago on his clipboard. Iruka remembers ignoring the boy that had sat on the old swing under the shade of the tree.

_"-most say that it's not really a_ _'boy' at all."_

Iruka remembers walking past the sobbing child.

How old had he been then? Five or six? Hokage-sama had enrolled the boy into Academy really early after all. Iruka remembers thinking- 'even the Hokage had wanted to wash his hands of that boy.'

Iruka now thought: 'A child shouldn't have to have that ability to store away emotions.' The boy grumbled slightly and Iruka was dismayed as he realised that he could only see a mischievous class clown.

Naruto had built up a wall that children should never have to build and he couldn't even read past it.

(Iruka knew that the blonde boy in front of him used to shake in fear and anger- no one would be able to tell from his frivolous gestures.)

* * *

_-Tsunade-_

Those were signs of past verbal abuse, why would an Academy teacher-

And that was when the dots connected. Uzumaki. Kushina. Minato. This was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Did the alcohol eat away at her brain? No wonder. _No wonder._

"That's a bit of a mean tone for a teacher, don't you think?" Tsunade murmurs and the Chuunin snaps his gaze to hers before his eyes dart about shamefully- looking for an excuse probably.

These 'shinobi' were so bad at hiding physical indications of their mental process- did Ibiki die? Did Inoichi go lax? Actually that would explain the Yamanaka heiress's frivolousness. What had Sarutobi been doing?

"But that's... impressive." She turns to Naruto. Tsunade inwardly starts grinning.

Not only was she incredibly intrigued with this boy, it would also piss off the council a lot if she were to take him as an apprentice. Jinchuuriki were human weapons of war and to make him a Med Nin was to pull him out of the battlefield. It was an unspoken rule that she couldn't take the last Uchiha as an apprentice because, well, he was _the last Uchiha._ The Sharingan Dojutsu being awakened and utilised for the benefit of the Village was first priority.

It was the same for Naruto... but that information was confidential. Officially, Tsunade 'didn't know' who and what Naruto is. If the Elders protest against it, using an excuse like: 'You must have known.' 'It's obvious.' Or, 'everyone knows.' Then they'd just have to admit of their incompetence at keeping an S-Rank secret... well, a _secret._ And they were so desperate, they wouldn't dare to force her to change apprentices.

With Naruto's hereditary large reserves, his natural potential and his enthusiasm, Iryo Ninjutsu- well, once Tsunade tackles it into him, would be extremely beneficial for everyone. Being the potential son of Kushina and Minato, their chakra natures would undoubtedly be somewhat passed down- managing to trick, sneak past and evade ANBU... it took serious trickery and skill.

_Untapped_ skill that was.

Her mind races through the few things she had learnt so far- countless pranks? Avoiding ANBU and legitimate shinobi? That already ticked off: trapping skills, potential Fuuinjutsu capability, stealth, basic creativity, smarts and instincts... courage, _definitely_ guts, perseverance and...

Her mental grin widens.

Tsunade had never felt such an urge to learn about someone before.

(How could someone so bright and hated be so happy yet lonely at once?)

(How could the Yondaime's child be treated as everything he wasn't?)

"Yeah, yeah? I told you Iruka-sensei." Naruto yells... and Tsunade would need to work on that volume. "I'm super amazing- I'll become the best Hokage one day, just you believe it, dattebayo!"

-Tsunade has to mechanically inhale to stop the memories from overcoming her. 

"Hoh? Why Hokage?" Tsunade pretends that his bright, awe-filled smile didn't shatter her heart. Dan, Nawaki-

"Because- because! I will get stronger and stronger until everyone will have to acknowledge and respect me! Believe it, dattebayo!"

She represses the urge to back up from the in-your-face enthusiasm. There must be a reason to his loud repetitiveness after all.

(It's something else to think about as well.)

"Please, Tsunade-sama, do not mind what the boy says. He is but a-"

"Did I ask for your opinion, Chuunin?" Tsunade turns a cold, assessing eye over the teacher. Here they were having a nice, casual conversation (you mean: emotional and traumatic conversation- you're fooling yourself, Tsunade) and this- this _little brat_ decided he had the audacity-

She makes a show of judgementally scanning him up and down.

He had a well-kept attire and lead smudges all over his right hand. His overall stance screamed of a well-behaving, respectful and dedicated teacher.

"I want to listen to what _Naruto_ says." Tsunade pointedly pronounces. Not 'the boy' but 'Naruto'. "You may not- nay the entire _Village_ may not, but I care for his opinion."

The man looked kind, honest and sweet yet the majority of the Village was kind, honest and sweet- what of the treatment of Naruto? The citizens were all respectful and generous yet as soon as one in power whispers a nasty word, they turn their backs- cast their minds. She remembers when Orochimaru was the one being glared at- avoided and ignored.

_"I'm gonna- hnrghh, I'm gonna punch their lights out-"_

_"Stop it, Tsunade," Jiraiya had hissed, hand over her mouth. It was probably the only time where he had manhandled her without a perverse intent. "You're causing a ruckus."_

_"How could you, Raiya?" She had looked at him with an aghast expression. "I thought you were better than that!"_

_"Take a look around you." Jiraiya's eyes had flicked around and she reluctantly turned to glance around at the civilians inching away from the trio with an expression of disapproval._

_"Look at your_ friend _," She had hissed back, completely undeterred. Jiraiya was so fiercely protective of his precious ones yet for some reason, the only time his common sense came into play, it was in_ this _kind of scenario._

_"It's ok, Tsunade." Orochimaru had smiled slightly before Jiraiya got the chance to assess the other boy's facial emotions. "It's always been like this."_

_"It's not meant_ _to_ be _like fucking 'that'!"_

_"There's nothing you can do about it anyway." Orochimaru had smiled again, albeit more sadly and gently, folding his arms into his kimono sleeves. "I'm happy enough with the two of you caring for me."_

The pendant that laid upon her breast bone had never felt so present before. Her hatred for Hokage was ever growing and she felt so cynical in the face of Naruto's persevering smile. Here she was as a Sannin with two of her most beloved dead, and there he was as a shunned orphan with no one to fall back upon.

She had lost a lot yet he had nothing at all. Comparing circumstances didn't matter in this case because ultimately, he was the one with a smile- he was the one that hadn't given up.

(If she had stayed with that little, sad, stupidly curious and annoyingly smartarse boy- _he was younger than Tsunade by a year, did you know?-_ Would Orochimaru have still joined ANBU? Still joined ROOT? _Still left the Village?)_

 _"-been so badly mutilated that she wouldn't have been able to recognise him anyway-"_ Those words had haunted her like Nawaki and Dan's deaths had. (Like how Orochimaru's carefully blank- but she could always read past his façade- but inwardly shell-shocked and sorrowful expression had haunted her.)

'He will die young.' A menacing voice hissed. 'Uzumaki Naruto will die young like your Dan and your Nawaki. Hokage is a fool's title. A title bleeding with suicidal motives.'

'He won't die young.' She replied to that voice for the first time since Dan's death. 'As long as I'm here- as long as I welcome him, he will not.'

Tsunade doesn't know why she was acting so out of character- at any sign of Nawaki or Dan, she would've fled. At the thought of Hokage, she would've sneered. That optimism usually pissed her off but... it didn't. Yet it wasn't the Elders' threats that held her ground, it was something of _Naruto_ that made her stay and fight against her own miserable self.

Maybe she was just tired of feeling old and drunk or maybe she just felt like kicking her sadness in the arse. Maybe...

_"There's nothing you can do about it anyway."_

Maybe Tsunade just wanted to relish in the fact that _now,_ she could do a _fucking thing about it._

* * *

The classroom stared with agape mouths as a Legend defended the boy- and not just any boy, it was-

_That_ boy.

They felt a bubbling indignation at that boy- their parents were right! Over the years, they had slowly started to ignore their parents' whispers- after all, that boy was just a stupid, pranking idiot. He was a clown that couldn't do anything.

But now they understood. That boy was manipulative and tricky 'like a fox'- they had snarled with a hatred they had not understood. It happened every time their parents got into a heated discussion, slightly drunken slurs- 'A ghastly, demon _fox!'_

Tsunade-sama was so mean to Ino-chan and Sakura-chan- the two most popular girls and yet she was so nice with that boy. What trick did he use? How did he fool Tsunade-sama?

No wonder their parents had told them to stay away from that boy. That boy that everyone hated, ostracised and avoided.

Some students opened their mouths to recite the words of their elder generation- 'Tsunade-sama, you do not know! You must stay away from that boy- he is a demon- a dangerous vermin!'

But a single _Look_ from their Sensei silenced them. That was strange because Sensei usually didn't care much for it. (They all knew that the Senseis all hated that boy- they weren't stupid.)

"I've decided." Tsunade-sama raised an arm to point at that boy. "Once you become Genin, I'll be taking you as my disciple."

The classroom tasted her words in their mouths, silently repeating it to themselves, 'Once he became Genin...'

At that reminder-

(Oh _right,_ they had almost _forgot._ That boy was all bark no bite- just a hateful rat with no skills to back up upon. Tsunade-sama would get rid of him sooner or later anyway.)

('Once he became Genin...' -Yeah, _righhht._ Like _that_ was going to happen any time soon. Or ever.)

-They burst into derisive laughter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well that was abrupt.
> 
> ok i didnt intend for the chapter to go that far but there were many childhood things in naruto's, well, childhood that needed to be addressed and- why not now???  
> DAMN IT HOW COME I ALWAYS GET OFF TOPIC IN MY FICS???? THIS WAS MEANT TO BE NICE AND HAPPY AND TSUNADE-GETS-NARUTO-OP BUT NOW LOOK AT ME!!
> 
> it was the same with my time travel fic OH MY GOD
> 
> and also, yes yes ik i made iruka a half-bitch here but rn, mitsuki hasnt happened and blah blah. iruka is still decent cuz he hadnt sabotaged naruto like other teachers had (in my fic). and in this fic, TSUNADE is going to be naruto's first proper 'precious person'. iruka will need to step up his game :D  
> 
> 
> ***ALSO I DONT THINK IM OVERDOING NARUTOS ABUSE. SOME FICS ARE OVER THE TOP AND CANNON DOESNT EXACTLY EXPLAIN WHY HIS ABUSE WAS PORTRAYED LIKE THAT. if u think its over the top tho, comment lol and ill adjust
> 
> also if u couldnt tell, im changing orochimaru a bit, dont mind me :)  
> hope it was a good read <33
> 
> (next and upcoming: academy classmates' pov (like shikamaru, sasuke pov etc :D)


	4. clearing the vision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> watch me redeem everyone
> 
> watch me.
> 
> the konoha rookies' pov PART ONE (i wanna rewrite it)
> 
> *****all italics = flashbacks or things that were said/taken place in the past******  
> i feel like i should mention that
> 
> SET AT AROUND SEPTEMBER 14th (ino & shika are turning 12 in a week, naruto and hinata are 11, everyone else is 12)  
> genin exams will be at around november (if theres an official date for the exam, please tell me lmao)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was gonna tell everyone that this will b less confusing but... IDK BRO THIS IS IN LIKE FIVE HUNDRED DIFFERENT POVS SO OFC IT GON BE EVEN MORE CONFUSING OMG WHATS W MY LIFE
> 
> ok just to make things a bit easier: ****everything is kinda in frozen time. it's essentially all the characters' inner thoughts during the exact moment everyone started laughing.****
> 
> yee? or is it still confusing?  
> omg i suck.

_"I've decided." Tsunade-sama raised an arm to point at that boy. "Once you become Genin, I'll be taking you as my disciple."_

_The classroom tasted her words in their mouths, silently repeating it to themselves, 'Once he became Genin...'_

_At that reminder, they burst into derisive laughter._

_-Ino-Shika-Cho-_

Yamanaka Ino was ashamed, ok?

Tsunade-hime was completely correct and she knew it.

She had initially clutched onto the idea that Sasuke was an Uchiha- the _last Uchiha,_ which meant that he held lots of power as the lone survivor. If Ino could win his favour, when he would be inevitably raised to spawn off more Dojutsu babies, via Yamanaka and Uchiha clan blood, Ino could come in close and snatch the political power. Even if she didn't get into a marital contract, being in the favour of someone who would become a large figure in society was always a bonus... or so she had first thought.

Ino was the heiress, the pride of Yamanaka-

_("Pray tell, are you even considering your own name?")_

-And she had forgotten all the psychological lessons her Dad had drilled into her. Her Dad had always lectured that- _"The problem with being prodigiously intelligent, Ino, is that your greatest setback is your own mind."_

She had been easily drawn into the rhythm of "Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun". Sure he was a pretty boy with a perfect face and even more perfect talents, _but_ he was twelve and had symptoms of many mental illnesses- the two facts were only scraping the tip of the iceberg of 'everything Yamanaka Ino did wrong'.

She had threw herself at the Uchiha, twisted a sweet friendship into a rivalry for him, screeched at him, cheered at him when he clearly hated it. 

_"Ino, honey."_ Her Dad's eyes hadn't been patronising yet she had felt insulted by his expression anyway. _"You're young and that translates to immature."_

She stopped preventing the attempts of other girls trying to stalk Sasuke a few months back and had felt absolutely no remorse.

 _"You've changed. Look at yourself."_ Her Dad's eyes had been taken aback. _"Ino-"_

 _"You don't understand anything Dad!"_ She had yelled back, stomping to her room and slamming the door shut. _"I don't want to talk to you!"_

How horrible. How unbecoming.

She jolted out of her thoughts at the sudden cacophony of laughter. 

Yamanakas were shinobi of the mind. As soon as Tsunade-hime had cleared the cloud in her head, she could see everything clearly all of a sudden.

The blinded hatred in her classmates' eyes, Hinata's idolisation, Kiba's anger and Shino's too- though well hidden. Shikamaru had a deeply attentive and intense look on his face, laziness slapped clear out of his face while Choji had crunched a single chip, the smiling softness and kindness disappearing as he furrowed his brow worryingly.

Sasuke's hands were still clasped in front of his face but Ino could see the whites of his knuckles as he narrowed his eyes- she gave an airy laugh as she realised that _Naruto_ had probably been the closest to Sasuke rather than her or Sakura.

And Sakura- Ino daren't look at that girl. That was a problem for another day.

'Naruto himself,' Ino realised as she filed through her recent memories with clear eyes, 'was amazing at hiding emotions.'

Tell tale signs of abuse and trauma were so deeply hidden that many could brush it off as the child being overreactive or hyper enthusiastic. Ino grimaced when she recalled all the careless insults she had thrown at the boy- she would definitely fix it.

She would definitely fix everything she had screwed up over her years in the Academy.

It was a long list of things to mend but- _damnit-_

-Ino was the Yamanaka heiress and she _will not_ let her name down ever again.

Akimichi Choji liked the new flavour of chips he had been recommended but it tasted bland as he watched his friend Naruto getting laughed at again. Wait- it wasn't _again_ because this kind of laughter was different. 

It was a nasty sound and it was even worse than when-

_"Fatty, fatty~"_

_"Why are you eating so much anyway-"_

_"You'd make a shitty ninja."_

_"You're the clan heir, you know that, don't you?"_

He shook the memories out of his head. He sneaked a glance at his classmates and almost flinched at the hateful looks on their faces. His gaze turned back to Tsunade-hime. He had first felt a little uncomfortable as Ino- the loud, confident girl he had always seen when their Dads met up- was getting told off. Even though she yelled at Choji a lot, she was still going to become his teammate so he didn't want the Sannin to be so mean.

But now he knows that Tsunade-hime had said the right thing when Ino hadn't gotten sad or hurt- instead, contemplative. Every time Inoichi-ojisan had that look on his face, he was always going to do something super smart or super awesome, so Choji was sure that after Tsunade-hime's words, Ino would finally stop being that air-headed fangirl that Choji and Shika always knew she was pretending to be. Ino had been cool to hang out with before the Sasuke fangirling came in after all.

His respect for the Sannin grew. Especially after she had just given a little humorous huff when he had shoved in another handful of chips. Tsunade-hime was a cultured person- BBQ chips rocked.

It made him feel worse for Naruto who was in the dead centre of the classroom's negative attention. It wasn't like Choji had the guts to actually defend him either... He crunched more ferociously on his snacks and decided that he'd make sure to bring Naruto an extra packet of chips the next day. 

Because that's what friends did for each other, right?

Nara Shikamaru was thinking.

And for once, it wasn't because he was trying to figure out what that pear-crocodile shaped cloud looked like. No, it was about the enigma of Uzumaki Naruto. Now, none of those idiots who were laughing would ever think like this but- 

Naruto, who was loud and screamed everything, was more mysterious and elusive than Sasuke. He had always known something was off about the blonde but it wasn't until Tsunade-hime's appearance that it finally clicked in his mind.

He had felt _surprised_ at the fact that someone was talking to Naruto _normally-_ he was so used to watching everyone sneer at the boy after all. It disgusted him when Shikamaru realised that he had let himself be manipulated into seeing Naruto as a lesser person- accepting how Naruto would always be "that boy".

He delved into everything Naruto had screeched and came up with almost no information of his actual being.

_"I'm going to be Hokage, dattebayo!"_

_"I'll beatchya all-ttebayo!"_

_"Just watch me, I'll definitely ace this-ttebayo!"_

Everyone knew he would say that because he _did_ almost every single day and they would all claim that he talked too much yet all of Naruto's hollers had been meaningless. Just plain calls for attention. And even then, they were all in vain.

What did Shikamaru know about Naruto anyway?

He was an eleven year old orphan with blonde hair, blue eyes and whisker marks. He wanted to be Hokage. He was hated. He was about the loneliest kid Shikamaru had ever met.

And Shikamaru didn't even figure that out from _Naruto_ himself telling him. It was all the information provided through pure observation. The only information the boy had given himself?

_"I'm Uzumaki Naruto-"_

_"It's Uzumaki Naruto and you better remember it!"_

_"Believe it! I'm Uzumak-"_

...That was it then. Why did he holler his name out all the time anyway?

At that point, why did all the adults call him 'that' or 'boy' or 'brat' all the time _anyway?_

When the questions starting rolling, it just kept building and building with more unanswered queries.

Why was he hated? Why did no one approach him? Why did the Senseis ignore him? Why did his old man ask him about Naruto with that scarily serious expression? 

Shikamaru was amazingly smart yet his laziness had caused all these things to slip past his fingers. He closed his eyes and his old man's grave face flashed behind his lids:

_"It's one thing to use laziness for efficiency, son. It's another thing if it pulls the wool over your eyes."_

His eyes narrowed and a sliver of uncommon resolve shot down his spine.

He recalled the harsh (but true) words of Tsunade-hime and recalled how he had uncharacteristically latched onto her every word. A bounty of information, truthfully tumbling out of her powerful figure, was just standing there- patching up the sobbingly disgraceful mess of a classroom in a matter of minutes.

'...Maybe not _patched_ _up_ ,' Shikamaru winced as a neighbouring seat mate heaved mirthfully, 'but it knocked sense back into our heads.'

Some heads were already empty (those stupid laughing simpletons) but some heads were just clouded (Ino and Sakura- they had changed so much).

He saw Ino, saw Choji, saw Hinata, saw Kiba and Shino, even Sakura's saccharine smile was absent. And- and _most of all_ Sasuke. Nine of them all were changing, evolving, _reaching the potential they had kicked aside._ Damnit, a class full of clan heirs- the next generation of practical geniuses yet they had all gotten caught up in their own heads.

To Tsunade-hime, it might've just been some measly brats getting what they deserved but Shikamaru was _certain_ that it would greatly affect the nine of them. (Naruto included. Himself included.) It was just the first step. (The first step means the world.)

The snickers and hollers of hateful humour just stirred him more, unfamiliar waves of anger wrapping around his stomach. He sat up straighter from where he had hunched his back and his fingers tapped each other as he focused and _absorbed._

The students, the reactions, emotional setting, Tsunade-hime, his future teammates... and most importantly: the why's and the how's and the what if's of...

His eyes centred onto the blonde boy.

...Of Uzumaki Naruto.

('Never again, old man.' Shikamaru internally seethed. 'I will never let something slip through my grasp again.')

_-Future Team 8-_

If Hyuuga Hinata was a brave, strong and courageous girl, she would've slammed her palms onto the table and flared her Byakugan in anger. Those people didn't know Naruto-kun like she did! How dare they-

But if she was brave, strong or courageous, she would've been a good heiress- her Father wouldn't have been so disappointed in her in the first place. At that thought, she just hunched over herself more and tried to convey her support for Naruto-kun through split second glances.

'Don't listen to them, Naruto-kun!' She wanted to say. 'Don't let them dishearten you!'

Well obviously, because she wasn't that popular, courageous, perfect heiress, Hinata doesn't do anything. She clenched her fist and looked down. What could she do to help Naruto-kun anyway? She had so many other problems of her own to fix. 

She then remembered Tsunade-hime's second of pause as her heavy brown eyes had assessed her- dismissing her instantly. Tsunade-hime hadn't even deemed her strong enough to take criticism. 

She wanted to help Naruto-kun but at this rate, she could only stand by from afar. She really should start working on her own issues... _and_ her strengths.

 _"You three,"_ Tsunade-hime's voice rang in her head, _"were supposedly good at chakra control. Promising candidates for apprenticeship."_

To the others, it might've been brushed off but to _Hinata,_ who has never heard a compliment in all eleven years of her life, it was a beacon of light. 

Hinata wasn't usel- no. Hinata was _promising._ She could start with that. 

(But now, she had no bravery to stand up against the class. Even if they were a class of ignorant fools.)

Inuzuka Kiba's eyes flicked away from the Hyuuga girl and back to Naruto. It was pretty darned obvious that she admired him but Kiba didn't understand why she would. Naruto was shi- crap at everything. That's why Kiba would usually laugh at that statement as well but something about those peals of giggles just sent warning bells ringing in his head.

His mom had told him not to play with that boy and when he had asked why, she had snarled a surprisingly hostile: _"Hell as I know why! Hokage-sama told us that, so do what I tell you. God, kids these days, no respec-"_

Of course Kiba hadn't listened to his mom, approaching Naruto the very next day. 

_"I played with_ Naruto _today!" He had declared really loudly the next week, hoping to urge on an aggravated reaction from his mom. But contrarily, she had just given a serious-_ serious _sigh and said-_

_"Thank god you did that predictable and annoying brat thing where you disobey me." His mom had muttered under her breath. "Heavens, that poor kid had no one to go to."_

_Kiba had displayed a shocked expression and when he had guiltily admitted that he had only hung out with Naruto to spite her, she hadn't yelled at him- only giving a short blank look before turning back to her groceries. That reaction had scared Kiba even more._

_"I know that." She had replied after the guilty silence. "But you know better now, don't you? Of course you would; you're my son after all." A sharp but fond grin had faced him. "And I always like to adopt little lonely pups into our pack."_

Kiba thought Naruto was annoying, loud and hopeless but that didn't mean that he didn't care just a tinyyyy bit for him. At first, hanging out with Naruto was for his own childish benefits but he thinks that it might've changed throughout their years of Academy because he feels a flare of protective anger within him at the cackles of ear grating laughter.

Aburame Shino adjusted his position so that he could peer at Naruto over the haze of his glasses. Kiba was angry. Why? That's because even though his brain was full of dog fur, Kiba knew that this kind of laughter wasn't the usual bantering kind.

Kiba had laughed with Naruto and _at_ Naruto a lot of times. But while Kiba had spouted biting taunts and mocks, he had still cared for the blonde boy. 

Shino could tell. Why? That's because his Kikaichu told him so.

His Kikaichu also told him that Naruto was always, _always_ lonely and sad. They told him that his chakra was boundless and open like the sea and how it would tumble and crash every time a hateful glance was shot his way. For him to be able to slap on a smile everyday... Shino's respect for him had unknowingly grown leaps and bounds. He hadn't realised that until now. 

Why?

That's because, for once, his unruffled expression was forced- he was also angry on behalf of Naruto.

* * *

_-Tsunade-_

She certainly didn't expect the sudden apprehension, fear and confusion flit across the boy's face and when the Chuunin hurriedly hissed out a sentence under the laughter of the class, she frowned.

"Naruto here had failed the graduation exam twice now." 

She stared at the boy in front of her, knowing that her gaze was both an encouragement, a challenge and a taunt.

The two stood there, facing each other and Tsunade broke the stare off when raw determination shone in Naruto's eyes with a grin. "I'll definitely pass the exam this time, just you wait, Iruka-sensei! ...And uh, random lady."

"Naruto!" An angry Haruno appeared suddenly and raised a fist, "Don't talk to the Legendary Tsunade-sama like that!" Naruto recoiled, bracing himself from impact while Tsunade furrowed her brows in thought.

The sudden personality change wasn't unheard of in shinobi but they weren't common among civilians. If Haruno hadn't been so squealy and brainlessly violent, Tsunade would've chosen her as an apprentice- she showed lots of wasted potential. 

"Sorry about that Tsunade-sama," Haruno flicked a pink lock over her shoulder in a way that reminded her of the Yamanaka. "You shouldn't pay attention to that idiot. He's always like that-" Her voice darkened, "Rude and stupid."

Tsunade caught a slip of annoyed irritation in Naruto's face before a kicked puppy expression slid over like a familiar mask. "Sakura-chaaan, so meann..."

And just like that, the class burst into rowdiness. Students turning to each other to whisper conversations, the fangirls squealing and the boys grumbling and chatting, some even dropped asleep. The Chuunin muttered: "I'm so done with this."

The classroom atmosphere returned with its usual frivolousness (but Tsunade recognises the dark undertones to their conversations and gossiping).

Naruto turned to scan the class for a seat but then hesitated and turned back to Tsunade. "What's so legendary about you?"

Somehow, Sakura had also managed to hear Naruto's lower than usual voice over the cacophony of boisterous students. "Naruto-baka, didn't you listen to _anything_ Sensei had been talking about during class? So stupid! Tsunade-sama is one of the Legendary Sannin- the war heroes that got their name during the Second Shinobi War against Hanzo of the Salamander, don't you know?" 

Tsunade nearly raised her brow at the quickly summarised and accurate information before she saw how the girl glanced at the Uchiha from the corner of her eye.

"But, but Sakura-chan, this lady looks so young-ttebayo!" Naruto gasped before saying slowly, "...Are you secretly a..." The boy eyed Tsunade up and down. "...Baabaa?"

"Naruto..." Sakura growled before she raised her fist again. This time, Tsunade intercepted the punch with ease, batting away her stick limb.

"I don't need _you_ to defend me." Tsunade scoffed before pushing back the aggressive urge to punch the boy herself. "I'll give you a warning, boy-" She caught yet another flash of dejection, "-Naruto." She corrected herself. "If you call me one more time, _I'll_ punch you myself, and that would hurt a thousand times worse than anything this pink brat could do, capiche?"

"Sí, como desees, hermosa _jovencita_." He muttered back reflexively with a sarcastic tone before Tsunade, with the rest of the class falling silent, raised both brows. That was a popular South-Western Iwagakure language...

"Chotto, Naruto." Fangirl #3 demanded. "Where did you learn how to say that? Papa's a merchant and he says that only _foreigners_ from Tsuchi know how to say that kind of language and Iwa is an _enemy_ Village." 

Tsunade gave a glance at the boy who looked surprised at his own words before his face tilted on the verge of panicking. Where _had_ he learned of those words anyway? As incompetent as Sarutobi was, there'd be no way he'd let Naruto go near foreigners.

The tone of his voice and the accent that rolled naturally off the boy's tongue were things that couldn't be faked. 

She was already suspicious after knowing Naruto's familiarity with the ANBU- there could be a possibility that Sarutobi let him meddle with the yakuza or yujo- there lay a possibility that a few of them were originally nomadic.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Akako." The Chuunin said, looking a tad uncomfortable. "There's no need to jump to conclusions."

"But Iruka-sensei," Fangirl #8 announced over loudly. "Our parents all tell us that he's a horrible child and that he doesn't even have Mummys or Daddys! Anyone would be able to tell that that was shady!" 

The Chuunin raised his voice a little over the growing murmurs, "There are many orphans and that isn't something you may discuss in the classroom. Many merchants and travellers pick up simple phrases like that, it's nothing to get heated over." His tone pushed for an end but Tsunade knew that it wouldn't work.

She resisted the urge to bite her lip- she hadn't come to orchestrate a soap opera. There was no way she would have known that the doubt was planted so deeply- what triggered it anyway? Something she said? Her kinder attitude? Was it jealousy? 

The animosity of the room was growing- slowly but surely.

"Yeah, Sensei." Another piped in, "You already know, don't you? That's why you all hate him so much! You must think so as well!"

"Sensei doesn't agree with us?" 

Tsunade thinks that their shouts were starting to barrage over 'disrespectful'.

"Of course Sensei would know, don't you Iruka-sensei? You know that he's a... _that_ , don't you?"

Hushed whispers of "my parents told me he was a monster-"

"-attacked our Village-"

"-killed Granny y'know-"

"-doesn't belong here-"

"Ch-chotto-" Haruno started hesitantly, glancing slightly at the blank expression of Naruto before back at her classmate. "Naruto _is_ annoying, but you can't speak so hatefully towards him. He hadn't done _that_ much to deserve it..." Her expression turned even more hesitant, "Has he?"

It was like a cue for an explosion of shouts-

"Sakura-chan, your parents are too nice so they didn't tell you how there was such a monster inside of our classroom."

"And that just confirmed it!" A boy triumphed, "Sakura-chan, did you hear him say that Iwa word? He's definitely not Konohan! No wonder our parents had wanted him to get kicked out."

"That's right, that's right!" A chorus of agreements rang out yet again and amongst the shouts-

"His parents are probably traitors from an enemy Village!"

The room goes silent.

Tsunade resisted the urge to place her forehead into her palm. The escalation of events was ridiculous. She had come here to complain and she ended up ripping apart the lalaland of immature brats. 

She wasn't prepared for this.

* * *

Naruto, for the first time since he had donned his happy mask and screamingly orange clothes, fled.

There were some things he couldn't face. And "traitor" was one of them.

No matter who his parents were, he would never betray Konoha. He loved Konoha... he...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that was even more abrupt.
> 
> ok ok ok. even i thought it was confusing. im honestly trying to stop rambling but its HARD YKNOW?  
> rippp i hope u enjoyed it either way. :D  
>    
> (everything regarding the naruto world and the world irl is made up.) and yes, i used google translate, don't slap me. i needed a reason for naruto to "leave" the class so...
> 
> i was going to write this for a second:
> 
> "And- and most of all Sasuke. He was going through a legitimate gay awakening."
> 
> leave a kudo or a comment ples ehe


	5. sakura has to squint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sakura.
> 
> sakura does not HATE naruto, she was simply annoyed. but if she squinted extra hard, maybe she would figure out why everything about him was wrong. she could figure it out (eventually), she was the top kunoichi of the class after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in this (super short) chapter, there will be NO dialogue. sakura is so deep in her thoughts and confusion that she doesn't recognise majority of the whispers/speech
> 
> she DOES refer to them tho, only processing the words LATER in the story
> 
> (give her a break yall, tbh kishi did team 7 bad. didnt expand on sakura, didnt thoroughly explain how sasuke ended up being like, shitting on naruto's everything. like, there's a difference between character development and powerups.)

_-Sakura-_

Tsunade-hime's words had sent a shockwave through her, blasting her head from where it had been lolly gagging around in her fantasies. It shook her to the core, the expression on her face wasn't even hateful, it was just patronising, disappointed and a tad sad. Sakura almost wanted her to spit out insults but no- everything the Sannin had said was true.

_"I would think the top 'kunoichi' of the class would know better than that."_

'Love clouds the mind- it perseveres through all!' ...Is what she might've said if she would've continued to be stubborn and stupid.

_"Obviously, I am not taking any of you three as apprentices."_

After all her mistakes had been thrown into her face, _Sakura_ herself didn't feel ready to leave the Academy, much less becoming an apprentice.

_"And you, Haruno. Highest grading kunoichi? How did you manage to do that? With that repulsive farce of a sweet girl you are trying to pull?"_

That statement had spoken for itself. 

Sakura's prodigious control over chakra was what first triggered the idea of 'shinobi'. Her parents had jumped in glee, speaking about the heroic acts of beautiful kunoichi. 

_"Femme fatale."_ Her Mum had gushed to her daughter. 

_"Bring honour to our Haruno name."_ Her Dad had smiled widely.

Then after two or so years in the Academy, she had been slapped awake- shinobi were shinobi. Some days, she had stared at the _long_ list of KIA shinobi on the stone and wondered whether or not they regretted becoming a shinobi.

 _"You've become less ladylike."_ Her Dad had frowned.

 _"Why are you so serious now?"_ Her Mum's brows had been downturned. _"Studying all day on ways to kill people-"_

From that day on, Sakura had sat with her legs together, walked stiffly so that her dress wouldn't stretch, grew her hair into a beautiful waist-length, clasped her hands together and raised her brows slightly so that her eyes would be bigger and cuter. Sasuke-kun had no longer been a subject of interest, it had become a crush verging on obsession- scratch that, it _was_ obsession.

Inner had appeared that same day.  
  


Then after another few years, those nihilistic thoughts on shinobi had left. (Inner grew louder.)

Academy was for ninja and the Academy wasn't scary at all. (Inner grew scarier.)

Sasuke-kun was hot and Ino-pig was her rival. Naruto-baka was stupid and- and-

And she forgot everything about the life of a shinobi. Those deaths had never sunk in. The risk had never fully processed in her mind. She couldn't imagine seeing blood outside of a blood nose or a scraped knee. She couldn't imagine seeing fights outside of Naruto-baka wrestling with Sasuke-kun- and losing as _always._

Tsunade-hime's eyes burnt into her yet all it took was the clueless expression on Naruto's face.

It was like a trigger for everything to happen like it usually did- his ignorant face slapping the play button on where the classroom had halted. It was like instinct because of how many times she had done it-

(How easy it was to respond to that tugging of Inner, an aggressive movement flying out of her thin limb like second nature.

How easy it was to prattle off information, peeking to see if Sasuke-kun had witnessed her intelligence.

How easy it was to sneer at Naruto's ever present stupidity...)

He deserved a punch, a reprimand and then he would give a despondent apology.

That didn't happen. Well it did, but if she squinted, she could tell that everything had gone wrong somewhere.

The laughter- it sent shivers up and down her spine. It made her feel like a hypocrite because she was just as prepared to laugh at Tsunade-hime's statement as the rest of the class was. As if _Naruto_ could pass the Genin exam. He slept during class, skipped out on lectures, caused constant trouble and didn't even take notes! 

Sakura was always annoyed at Naruto for declaring to become Hokage then falling asleep during an important lecture. There were a wealth of information that he lost purely because of his laziness- then he gets sad about failing a test as if it wouldn't have _obviously_ happened.

Sakura was prepared to list every reason why he _wouldn't_ pass when Naruto uttered a foreigner's phrase. At that moment, she had halted.

She hadn't thought "traitor" or "foreigner", she had thought "I didn't know that Naruto knew that" with a sort of strange curiosity.

How did he learn it? Was it simply overheard? If so, then did Naruto have more talents? More hands on then actually _taking notes?_ Would Naruto actually be successful if someone _privately_ tutored him? Was there a reason why he couldn't focus during class?

There were many psychological factors Sakura could list that could hinder his growth...

But obviously her classmates hadn't shared the same sentiment, whispering and murmuring with so much hidden acidity that she felt like ice had frozen across the room. A snicker was filled with derision, a giggle was menacing, those chortles were full of brimming hatred.

It was so _unlike_ them. Hanako-kun was always so cheerful and playful, Aina-chan was helpful and caring, Hima was soft and sweet and... and... 

Why?

She was on the verge of crying in fear and weakness just from being _near_ the target of those disgusted, scornful stares. But the _actual_ target was...

When she shot a glance at that annoying, rude, dumb, lazy and lame blond boy, she was tearful and slightly bewildered to see that Naruto just looked accepting. 

Accepting.

Motionless.

Unfeeling.

Tired.

Blank.

('Smile please.' Sakura internally cried. 'Smile that stupid, ugly grin that makes me squint at how bright it is.')

Naruto did not smile.

He disappeared. Shooting out the window with the speed Sakura had never seen from the practice spars or the Taijutsu assessments before.

The window clicked shut with a dull thud and she felt shocked.

Naruto had left before Sakura had a chance to sort out her emotions. ('Why would he wait for you?')

Before Sakura had a chance to defend Naruto against her (ex) friends. ('Hoh, are you attached now?')

Before Sakura had a chance to apologise. ('What would you apologise for?')

Before Sakura had a chance to tell Naruto that she didn't mean all the insults and punches and mocks and taunts and dismissals and- _god there was so much things she had spat at the boy_ and it was only _now_ when she felt remorseful.

Maybe if Sakura hadn't been blinded by her obsession with Sasuke, she would've been nicer to Naruto. If she had helped him, would he have stopped with his exaggerated pining and scrambles for attention? Would she have supported his dream? Would he have been a good friend to Sakura? 

Sakura wouldn't lie to herself and say that his foolery was the only reason why she had disliked him. No, she had also disliked him because Naruto was the _only_ person who could get a reaction out of Sasuke. Sakura had _disliked someone_ because of a stupid crush. And now look, she only felt guilty after it was too late.

She thought she had dislike Naruto, but in the face of _those eyes,_ she'd rather ditch all her fake, two-faced friendships with Hanako, Aina and Hima and stand with Naruto.

('You realised just now? You mean you just realised-')

Inner's voice whispered, '-how horribly wrong you have been?'

('Inner,' Sakura breathed in reply. 'Who's side are you on?'

'Yours.' Inner gushed back. 'I'm always on your side.')

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is so off topic, i swear, this is only for konoha 11 to grow up while naruto is going on his overpowered journey.
> 
> only two more chapters before it'll move on :D
> 
> leave kudo ples and comment ples :3


	6. sasuke hates cloudy days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> naruto runs, sasuke chases
> 
> because he doesn't like the shadow that was cast from the clouds which hovered over the bright bright sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and yes, it might be ooc but its for the sasunaru, do not deny the sasunaru. obviously, it will be like suppppppppper slow burn cuz they're underage but what can i say? im a sucker for the ship.
> 
> (on writer's block for blood red s&s and i am currently contemplating on abandoning my other work and rewriting it... if you have no idea what im talking abt, move along :D)

_-Naruto-_

He hated running. Hated crying. 

Naruto didn't think it would happen again. The stares, the glares, the spit as they cursed at him, "that boy" "monster" and worst of all... "traitor".

There were many nights where he had just sat, staring at his bare, crumbling, dirty wall and thinking about his parents. Because as much as "monster" is whispered from where they thought he couldn't hear, Naruto _knew_ that he had parents.

(He was human. He really was.)

But there's a strange look in the Hokage-jiji's eyes that he couldn't decipher. Sometimes it was pity, sometimes it was burden. Either way, Naruto didn't like it but because he was selfish, he just let himself absorb the old man's warmth and love (that may not be real).

The one time he had asked about his parents- there was instant rejection.

"They're dead." and, "they won't be coming back." were the only pieces of information he got from the old man's suddenly abrupt speech. The Hokage had left soon after. 

That night, he stumbled onto the possibility that his parents might've been traitors. 

And today, majority of the class dug deep within his carefully held together façade and ripped out his worst fears, _screaming_ them and _howling_ them as if Naruto's own mind hadn't done so already.

He wasn't a traitor. He really, _really_ wasn't a traitor. It wasn't _his_ fault or her fault that the Neechan from the strange building a few streets down was nice. It wasn't _her_ fault that she came from a different place and had no where else to go.

 _"We aren't considered all that 'human' either, honey."_ The Neechan had smiled at him the one time he had dared trek into the dark grounds of those streets. He hadn't understood what she had meant that time. _"Everyone down here, you see, are not really counted as 'normal' but we're fine with it, it's better than anything else we could ask for."_

Naruto wasn't like that. He wanted to become Hokage, he wanted to be acknowledged. Those people were nice, but they were distant. They were from a world that Naruto felt like he didn't belong in. But when the pretty side of Konoha kicked him away, what else did they expect him to do?

He loved the gruff geezers who looked scarier than they actually were and he loved all the people who were clearly different in the Village. He loved every time a Neechan would sit down with him and babble about her hometown, he loved it even more when they'd hum and sing foreign lullabies. 

_"I wanna learn too-ttebayo!"_

_"Hahaha, you're adorable. I'm a foreigner, sweetie. You will never be able to use my mother tongue here in Konoha anyway."_

_"I don't care, dattebayo! It's pretty, so I will learn your mummy mouth, believe it!"_

_"Hahaha, it's mother tongue, darlin'."_

But they weren't scorned at. Even though they claimed to be less than human (like he), some villagers still gave sympathetic smiles and extra change sometimes and- _Naruto wanted that kindness too!_

No, he wasn't a traitor. The person who taught him the phrase wasn't a traitor, so why...

Why was it just him?

Why has it always been _him?_

They laid bare- the side of him that was everything _but_ the funny, stupid clown act he had spent years to maintain.

They laid exposed- his ugliest, rawest parts of his heart and mind.

They laid true- the real face of himself that everyone hated more (including himself).

Naruto hates running. Hates crying.

But he couldn't think of anything else to do. Not when _the eyes_ were staring at him like that.

* * *

_-Class-_

There's a deafening silence.

When the sound of the window clicking shut behind Naruto rang across the room, Sasuke snapped out of his trance. Scrambling up to his feet for a reason he didn't know, he hurried after the retreating blonde.

It was _wrong._ This- this entire thing felt _wrong._

Naruto- that stupid idiot- was meant to stay like an idiot that could keep on his happy, bright, stupid face while Sasuke would just watch his back, squinting like one would at the sun. Sasuke would remain in the dark, dwelling in his vengeance while Naruto would be that aspiring Hokage that rose from his burdened childhood without an inkling of hatred or resentment. 

Sure Sasuke had _said_ that Naruto was weak and never acknowledged his presence outright but- but there was a radiance about him that Sasuke wanted to selfishly keep. There was a strength that the dead-last holds and it was something that Sasuke knew he would never be able to grasp for himself.

That's why Sasuke would just be in the shadows, jealously snatching all the warmth of the sun. He was to remain in the cold and in the cold he will _always remain._ (Because it was for a revenge that he did not want but had to achieve.)

It wasn't meant to be this way. 

Naruto was meant to argue back with that dumb, indignant face of his- yelling back with that obnoxious, ear-splitting voice that grated on his ears. Sasuke was meant to watch that loser defend himself with that baseless pride of his yet- 

He hadn't.

Uzumaki Naruto was unbearable and demanding and loud and annoying and stubborn and- He wasn't meant to... to _run._

Sasuke's body moves on his own as he places a hand on the window, taking a cursory glance behind him to glare at his classmates before he swiftly slid outside, slamming the panel shut behind him and sprinting after Naruto.

* * *

_-Naruto-_

His body leads him to the depths of the Hashirama forest. The tall, craning trees were intimidating but not like Naruto had ever gotten scared of their overbearing presences. He'd much rather get lost in the forest than lost in the stares.

He had thought that he was finally fitting in but looking back... he was still the same, wasn't he? 

Most of the class had instantly distanced themselves from him and the ones who hadn't weren't much better.

Shino ignored him, Hinata always looked away from him with a weird expression on her face, Kiba mocked him... Shikamaru and Choji were better though- they actually treated him like _human._ It meant nothing when they didn't understand the hurt he felt from the rest. It meant nothing when they didn't care.

(And they didn't. They always looked away, Choji looking down onto his snacks and Shikamaru rolling his eyes with a mutter of "troublesome". But it was fine. They didn't _need_ to. Even though Naruto thought Shikamaru and Choji were his friends, doesn't mean they thought the same. He was probably still the annoying, dumb kid that was a stain on their prestigious clans.)

Naruto had thought Ino was better than the rest of the screaming girls (she was family friends with Shikamaru and Choji) but he was wrong. He had thought Sakura was better because she was nice when she was younger. He was wrong.

They were all the same.

It was like a wake up call.

They were all. The. _Same._

He would always be trapped between the eyes and eyes and eyes, insults upon insults upon insults.

-Backs turned- brows raised- sneers facing him every. Single. _Second-_

* * *

_-Meanwhile: Class-_

Soon after the window clicked for the second time, Tsunade exhaled loudly with an aborted, sardonic laugh. She then left with a mutter of "reporting to Sarutobi, I guess."

Iruka-sensei looked taken aback, stuttering slightly before he made out an, "Ok settle down now, this commences our lesson today..." Iruka-sensei had never looked so reluctant before. "Class dismissed." He started walking away so quickly they all thought he was running.

With sniggers and giggles, the classroom slowly rose to stand up.

None of the remaining of the Rookie 9 did however: Hinata was staring at her empty desk, Kiba was still lazily leaning back with Akamaru by his side, Shino stayed stoic, making no move to pack his belongings. Ino was huffing slightly, sitting straight and glaring at the whiteboard, Shikamaru was leaning on his left palm as he spun a pencil and Choji made no move to stop eating his endless supply of chips. Sakura still stood in the middle of the classroom, unmoving.

"Hey Ino-chan, are you ok?" A random girl leaned down to glance at the Yamanaka. "Iruka-sensei let us leave early for once, do you want to go shopping?"

"Hey, Mari-chan," Ino spoke with a deceptively nonchalant tone. "What do you think of Naruto?"

The seven in the empty room stilled as they waited for Mari to reply.

"...Hah? Ino-chan, why are you asking? Didn't you hear what everyone said?" 

"Of course I heard, do you agree with them?" Ino let a thread of warning go into her tone but Mari didn't notice the change of her tone.

"Hm?" Mari's eyes grew wider as if she was curious and Shikamaru sighed, Kiba gave a tsk as Mari predictably said:

"Everyone knows that he doesn't belong in Konoha."

It was like something snapped.

Two hands slammed upon a desk, chair screeching as the Yamanaka stood up aggressively. She turned to Mari who looked shocked-

Ino slapped her.

Brows downturned angrily, eyes brimming with unknown tears and face contorted into an ugly rage, Ino had never looked so terrifying to Mari before. The girl stumbled backwards before she registered the remaining occupants of the classroom all glaring just as viciously at her.

Hinata's Byakugan, Kiba's feral glare, Shino's creepy stare boring into the girl, Shikamaru's narrowed eyes, Choji's silent frown, Sakura's suddenly ferocious expression and Ino's glowing blue orbs.

Mari staggered backwards for a moment before she fled from the classroom.

Ino's hand burned with the amount of power she reinforced behind it but right now, that sting was nothing compared to the feeling that was bubbling in her gut.

"What the fuck." Her voice is watery and wobbly and _weak_ (she will definitely change that soon). 

Shikamaru gave a bitter scoff, "Right... I hate this."

The children who would be renowned as the Konoha 11 in the future all agreed, though they didn't know what it was that they hated. The class, the unreasonable inequality... or maybe it was just this shinobi world all together.

In that moment, all those who hadn't laughed or jeered made an unspoken pact- they would change it. Whatever it was that they hated.

"Tomorrow..." Sakura said hesitantly before steel entered her tone. "Tomorrow let's all change, yeah?"

* * *

_-Naruto-_

'Never...' He realised as he coldly sorted through his memories.

They had never once cared for him. No one had ever asked him if he was ok. No one had ever asked why he was late.

It didn't matter if that day was near his birthday and villagers' eyes were extra hostile for no reason.

It didn't matter if that day there was a drunk villager who started screaming incoherently at him.

It didn't matter if that particular night, he had had a horrible nightmare and an equally horrible sleep.

It didn't matter if he couldn't wash himself properly because his landlord had forgotten to fix the broken, leaking water pipes. Again. (At this point, Naruto already figured out that delaying the plumber was just his landlord's way of getting petty revenge. For what though? What had Naruto done?)

Nothing ever mattered to any of them, because Naruto would only ever be 'that boy'.

* * *

_-Sasuke-_

"That dobe." Sasuke hissed into the wind. He watched as the brightly dressed figure disappeared between the buildings. Sasuke would never be able to figure out why he could run so fast. He bit his lip as he slowed his initial sprint into a hesitant jog. 

He had treated Naruto like trash the entire time, who was he to care for the boy? 

Wait that wasn't right- Sasuke _didn't_ care for the boy.

He recalled back to his earlier days and how he had stared into his reflection of the river while Naruto would trudge along the hill above. He remembered contemplating on calling out to that blonde boy when their eyes had made contact.

Instantly, they had both looked away.

They never ended up talking. 

When they faced each other in class, they had bickered, argued and choked each other by the necks but they had never actually talked. Sasuke didn't care for the boy. 

No, he- he... he really didn't. Sasuke didn't care for the boy. He only cared for one thing and that was-

Revenge.

What was he doing? Chasing after the sun when his goals would only remain in the darkness?

(Naruto could deal with it anyway, he'll be fine tomorrow... like always...)

(But Sasuke always hated cloudy days- it meant the rain and the cold; like the terrorising nights he spent alone.)

* * *

_-Naruto-_

...But maybe Sasuke was... Naruto forcibly shook his head. The boy that he had first hated and the boy he had then related to... Naruto had liked him.

The eyes were both following them and they both hated it. Naruto selfishly liked Sasuke because only _he_ knew what it was like to be alone. Naruto _selfishly_ liked Sasuke because he was the only one who didn't have parents who would warn him to stay away from Naruto. 

(No, it wasn't just that. Not like he'd ever admit aloud that he felt comradery to that lone boy.)

But even then, it was probably still one-sided. Getting a rise out of him in every possible moment, Naruto knew that Sasuke thought he was a nuisance. There was no way that genius would 'lower' himself to speak to Naruto.

'Last Uchiha' followed him like 'monster' followed him. 

Sasuke was better than Naruto at _everything_ so why would he care for some orphan like he?

* * *

_-Sasuke-_

Sasuke had regretted not talking to Naruto when he was younger. Sasuke didn't do things like regretting. 

So here he was, feeling utterly humiliated- panting with exhaustion after dozens of long minutes of searching, sweat on his brows, hair ruffled from wind and face flushed from exertion, standing in front of-

"Dobe."

...Was the only thing Sasuke managed to say after cornering Naruto's shivering figure.

Lodged deeply into the concave of a tree trunk, the boy Sasuke had been searching for was hidden expertly in the deep wilderness of the quiet forest.

Sasuke reprimanded himself before gritting out a "...Sorry."

There's a low chuckle and it sounds like Naruto had grated his vocal chords against sand paper. "Never think I'd see the day where you'd apologise. All it takes is me acting like a loser to get you to pity me, huh?"

"Usuratonkachi." Sasuke growled this time. "Who said I pitied you? You're always a loser anyway."

He then caught onto his words and winced at his tactlessness. There was a hesitation within him for talking to Naruto though. His voice was too low and too quiet, there was a glaring lack of his stupid verbal tick.

Sasuke didn't know how to talk to Naruto. He didn't know whether or not it was meant to be harder talking to a Naruto who was _serious_ and _sad_.

"Ya know, Teme? I think your insults are the only ones I like." 

"Dobe," Sasuke hissed again, taken aback by the sudden, blatant comment. "Don't say that, you're so embarrassing."

"Bastard."

Sasuke didn't rise to the bait.

"What's wrong with you?" He remembered what he came here for and crouched down, fruitlessly trying to pry the arms away from where Naruto had curled into a ball. Sasuke felt a hot, bubbling emotion simmering just under his skin.

"Get up. What the hell are you doing?" He gritted his teeth with an anger he didn't understand.

"Why did you just let them say that?" Sasuke started pulling at Naruto's hands instead when his eye-searing jumpsuit started to creek, the seams groaning. "Why didn't you argue back? Why didn't you say something? What the _fuck,_ you _idiot._ "

Naruto didn't reply and it just made Sasuke more mad.

"Reply! Say _something_!" His aggravation made his throat thick and his voice sharp.

He didn't like _this_ Naruto.

No, that wasn't right. He didn't like whatever was making Naruto like this. 

"I didn't think you were so _weak_ to run away from that. What are you doing? Stand up, dead-last," Sasuke started to violently yank on both of Naruto's wrists, "What the _fuck_ are you doing? Get. UP. You absolute _l_ _oser._ "

And with a short yelp from the blonde, Sasuke finally managed to dislodge Naruto from where he had stubbornly attached himself to the tree. Naruto stumbled forward before collecting himself, knees hitting the ground in a W child's sitting pose. 

Sasuke let himself pant for a second as he victoriously held Naruto's two arms away from his face. Now all he needed to do was- was...

After two seconds of stillness, Naruto tilted his face up to glare half-heartedly at Sasuke. It had no heat in them; it wasn't the usual flaming and irritated blue orbs, instead, there was just an iciness to them. A dispassionate cold stare.

Not only that but...

The faint feeling of triumph very quickly died in him as the Uchiha boy dropped his hands, still clasping on Naruto's wrists with a grip that was definitely too tight to be gentle.

"Why are you..."

His voice was shaking but he didn't know whether or not it was from anger anymore.

Sasuke slowly knelt down in a seiza to mirror Naruto, bobbing his head slightly lower and to the side so that they were at eye level with each other. Sasuke realised that his hand was quaking as it released one wrist, slowly moving it to Naruto's whiskered cheeks.

He recoiled when the boy in front of him suddenly flinched right before his fingers made contact.

Something deep within his chest softened and ached, leaving him feeling unfamiliarly vulnerable even though it wasn't _him_ who was-

"Why are you crying?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG ITS TOO OOC IM SORRY IM SORRY OK
> 
> (if yall want, lol, i can delete this chapter and rewrite the other scenario i was thinking of in which tsunade found naruto first and sasuke ended up turning away from naruto. it wasnt as well written, tho, thats why i posted this one)
> 
> so i feel like at this point, ppl will drop out cuz of the ship.
> 
> idk, i just have a feeling.
> 
> i dont think it's toooooooooo bad cuz its a SHIP yk and in my fic, it'll be a NON TOXIC SHIP- so yee, sasuke will still be an arse but not that much. if u don't like nicesometimes!sasuke, then dw, most of the chapters SHOULD be abt tsunade. if not, the exit button is righhhht there *points to nowhere*.
> 
> if u do like it, ples kudo and comment and make my day <33 :'D


	7. night falls after sunset

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ah yes, no one will ever know what happened between naruto and sasuke. maybe ill do a flashback later, maybe ill give A LOTTTT of hints, but eh. rn, i just wanna turn everything into a shitfest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also i dumbed down sarutobi for a reason (end notes for more info)
> 
> edit: this chapter was short and pretty shit. bad week, i guess :0 but i cant b bothered rereading it again so if there are fifty thousand grammar mistakes... comment i guess. help yo girl :p

_-Hokage's office: Tsunade-_

"Ok, Sarutobi." She declared curtly. "I hate that Academy class."

"Tsunade?"

"I hate it so much." She slumped down on a chair before running a hand through her hair. Tsunade could feel disapproving eyes of onlookers boring into her skull. So what if she was so informal it was bordering on insubordination?

She wanted to ask Sarutobi about how Naruto knew foreign phrases but she had a feeling that he didn't know. 

Instead, a plan slowly started to form in her mind. "But I've picked a few girls that I might take." 

Key word was 'might'.

"Oh, so you've finally came to your senses." Sarutobi gave a small smile and Tsunade didn't even feel a smidge of guilt at giving a white lie.

"I haven't figured out who yet- they're all horrible." Tsunade sighed. "Especially this one little blonde rascal who went rampant with pranks." She side eyed Sarutobi and watched as his expression turned slightly annoyed and exasperate.

"That's just Naruto. A fine work, isn't he? I thought that he would start acting a bit more mature after some years in the Academy but..."

"Oh-hoh? You know the name of some random kid?"

Sarutobi hummed in agreement. "Naruto is a very lively boy, I've talked to him a few times." 

So Tsunade was not supposed to be privy to his Jinchuuriki status.

Perfect.

"Oh well, he disrupted the class and is clearly not suitable for the shinobi lifestyle, are you really going to promote him in the next exams?" The words burnt at her tongue but she just cast a bored look at Sarutobi. Talking ill of Naruto's skill would make his apprenticeship be most unexpected. "They should all quit, to be honest, but he's just the worst."

"Now, Tsunade, that boy may be young and immature, but there's a Jonin Sensei for a reason. I believe Naruto will grow up sooner or later and become an excellent shinobi." The old man puffed out smoke. "Is that all?"

Tsunade pretended to give a long suffering sigh, "Once I have chosen my disciple and get them to sign a permission slip, may I leave on a training trip?"

"So soon?"

"I'm planning on leaving as soon as they're filled in on the terms and ready."

"It's very hasty..."

"The Council didn't say I needed to run the hospital so I'm dedicating myself to creating another competent Med-Nin like Shizune."

"Hmm," Sarutobi stroked his chin. "And for how long will this be?"

"I want at least three years." Well, she was sure that Naruto didn't want to be back any time soon.

"Three years?" He repeated with a narrowing of his eyes. "That's an awfully long time-"

"Academy student rank, remember?" Tsunade rolled her eyes. "I can't be bothered waiting around for whenever the Genin exams will be. Three years is the bare minimum if I'm going to make them a decent shinobi. If there's an emergency blah blah I'll be back to act as your meat shield, ok?"

"Now, look here Tsunade-"

"Sarutobi." She pressed her lips together. "This is my Slug Contract and my legacy here. Give me at least that many years."

With a sigh, Sarutobi waved his hand. "Fine. I'll see to your disciple becoming an upstanding shinobi. Rank at low-level Chuunin. At _least._ "

Tsunade gave a smile before she turned to leave.

Once she was out of the building, her polite smile stretched into a satisfied smirk. Tsunade couldn't believe Sarutobi was _that_ desperate to have not asked for her potential apprentices' identity. Maybe he would in the near future, but Tsunade was planning on hightailing out of Konoha with Shizune and Naruto ASAP.

The next time Naruto will meet with that stinking class and these stinking shinobi, he'll be strong. Stronger than ever.

(Tsunade'll show them- Naruto'll show them _all._ What it means to be Senju Tsunade's disciple.

As long as she was around, Naruto will never be mocked by his ex-classmates, ex-peers ever again.)

* * *

_-Meanwhile: Mizuki-_

He dropped down to crouch beside the boy. 

"Oh, hey Naruto-kun." He said with a small smile. His face switched to a sad expression as he took in the boy's expression. "Are you alright?"

The Kyuubi boy looked at him with distrust and wariness, "Mizuki-sensei? ...Yeah, I'm good."

"I was just taking a jog around the Hashirama forest, Iruka-san doesn't usually end early, does he?" Mizuki gave the boy an encouraging smile. "I heard once you become Genin, you can leave with Tsunade-hime, that's amazing!"

A small grin danced across the boy's face and Mizuki inwardly smirked. 

"Yeah, I know right! I'll beat the Genin exam and become stronger and stronger, just you belie-"

"But how are you going to pass?" Mizuki tried to make the sentence less harsh by widening his eyes and raising his brows a bit, mouth turning into an 'o' shape. "I can tell you, Naruto-kun, that you _fully_ deserve the Genin rank but your Bunshins won't be able to pass. I'm so sorry."

He watched as the emotions slowly started to war in the boy's eyes, watching as the light completely crumbled before- 

"And there's another reason too." Mizuki lowered his face with a mock expression of despondence. "You know that everyone hates you, right? No one's listening to me when I tell the other Senseis that you're strong enough to graduate. I had heard of the incident in class, I'm sure you must want to graduate as soon as possible, don't you?"

"No- well, I mean..."

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun. I have a solution. I _will_ let you become Genin." He dangled hope over the fox's stupid face. Mizuki was going to make Naruto _beg_ for it. 

"W- What? Really?"

"Yes, it's a separate test and you could do it individually, so like, right _now_. You'll get an instant promotion to Genin." Mizuki pasted on a cheeky smile, "It's a secret one for _real_ shinobi. It'll be more challenging but it'll guarantee you your apprenticeship with Tsunade-hime"

Mizuki figured that Naruto would be desperate to never see his class again, it was just a perfect chance for him to obtain the scroll. Orochimaru-sama will definitely remember him for this!

"What is it? What is it?" 

Mizuki pretended to give him a hesitant look. "Are you sure you're up to it, Naruto-kun? It might be too hard for you..." 

There was a flicker of suspicion before it was visibly pushed aside by desperation and stubbornness.

Hah! What a predictable brat.

"Yes, yes I am-ttebayo, tell me, tell me! Please, please, please!"

When he placed a finger on his chin, a pondering look on his face, he felt a vicious rip of satisfaction. 

Checkmate.

"Fine then. So here's the plan, Naruto-kun..."

* * *

_-Half an hour later: Tsunade-_

The next thing she remembered after talking to Sarutobi was the hustle of ANBU and shinobi. 

And now she was wandering in the shadows of the Hashirama forest. Why would Naruto...?

As she made a hand seal, chakra poking around, Tsunade slowly located the boy who was-

Practicing Kage Bunshin? Her eyes widened minutely. Naruto _actually_ stole the forbidden scroll!

She cloaked her presence, hiding into the shadows as she noticed the incoming presence.

A small rat Chuunin scurried into the clearing, a smug look on his face. "Well, well, Naruto-kun, you're amazing! You actually managed to do it! What a..." A sleazy grin stretched across his face, his demeanour changing like a flip had been switched, "...Useful little freak."

_What?_

"Pass it here, Naruto... _kun._ " The rat Chuunin's lips curled as he jutted a hand against one hip, the other beckoning the blonde boy closer. "Now be a good little mongrel and give it here."

Oh no way. Oh no no no _fucking_ way.

"Mizuki... sensei?" Naruto paused at the hostile tone, his character quieting down as his mind slowly sorted through the chaotic scene. "What are you... talking about?"

A traitor. Why was such a _shitty_ shinobi able to infiltrate Konoha? How much were the shinobi here slacking off? 

"I'm saying..." Eyebrows raised in a mocking way, Mizuki smiled arrogantly down at the boy, "I lied to you-"

_Shit._ Tsunade hesitated, should she intercept? Maybe she should first repor-

"- _Kyuubi boy._ " Mizuki gave a victorious smile as the boy froze, completely motionless.

_That son of a bitch._

"...Wha- what?" Naruto blanched, a few beats of silence passing before he whispered, "Kyuu... bi?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i purposefully made it so that sarutobi is on a 'lower' level than tsunade. obviously im not saying he's 'weaker' or 'more stupid' but it's like... idk how to describe it. im making him inferior (he's featured less, won't get badass moments, always asking the questions, is shown to be tired/annoyed/lenient w danzo etc.) and it's for future references.
> 
> i might dethrone sarutobi and there will DEFINITELY be an event occurring BECAUSE sarutobi failed to question tsunade's disciple's identity --> they currently dont know that it's naruto and because of that, they'll get a freak attack and summon her back (just in time for, wink wink, chuunin exams ;D)
> 
> leave kudo or comment ples  
> luv yu <3


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